A filmmaker, writer, advocate for seniors and a teacher. These are just a few of the hats that Lily Fu wears. Fu, the founder of Seniors Aloud, an online platform for seniors in Malaysia, is a great example of how to age not just well but really, really well.
At 76, Fu is packing in full days and is as upbeat as ever about “all the things I want to do” in the years to come.
“I turned 76 yesterday. Target age – at least 100! Still, many more years to continue living life to the fullest,” she recently posted on her Facebook wall in June.
And Fu’s accomplishments are nothing short of awe-inspiring.
A retired teacher, Fu has earned a solid reputation for being a very vocal advocate for senior citizens in the country.
She started Seniors Aloud, an online platform for seniors, 16 years ago as a space for seniors to meet, network, mingle, plan activities, and “find their tribe”.
“We are told to age gracefully. But how? We are not told how?” she says, adding that when she started Seniors Aloud, there were not many initiatives for seniors. And so, through the platform, she offers seniors like her ideas and options on how they can age gracefully by sharing a myriad of activities they can partake in, programmes they can enrol in and articles they can read. The platform now has about 3,000 members!
Six years ago, Fu decided to pursue a Master of Science in Applied Gerontology at the Singapore Institute of Management (now the Singapore University of Social Sciences). She was 70 at the time –the oldest in her class – but she wanted to “earn the credentials” so she would be taken seriously as an advocate for seniors.
In a society that still places value on paper qualifications, she felt that graduating as a gerontologist would lend credence to her efforts.
“I’m doing the same things for the community as I have since 2008. But with an MSc in Applied Gerontology from Nanyang Technology University in Singapore, I get more invitations to speak, and I get contacted by the media for my views. Many doors opened for me when I returned with my degree. I’ve attended government events, and I have a footing in several (government) committees,” she was quoted as saying in an article on Amazing Seniors, another platform for seniors.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, four years ago Fu added another feather to her cap – that of a filmmaker.
She directed and scripted a documentary, Meniti Senja (The Twilight Years), that addressed the alarming rise in the elderly being left to fend for themselves in aged care centres. She did this as a grant winner under the Freedom Fim Festival through which she learnt many new skills including scriptwriting and directing … all when she was 72.
While it was invigorating to learn a completely new set of skills, the documentary was essentially yet another way for Fu to push for policies to protect the elderly in Malaysia and create awareness about the fate of the abandoned elderly.
“I guess I have always been on the frontlines of asking for change. When I was in Form Six at the English College in Johor Bahru, the headmaster announced we had to change the name to a generic ‘Sekolah Menengah name’ but we were not happy. I mean the school was famous for being known as the English College. So I rallied the girls and led a protest. Of course, we got into trouble for that.
“People sometimes ask me where I find the energy. But this is just who I am. When I was a teacher, I used to give free tuition to my students just to help them. This of course angered some of the other teachers who used to charge for tuition lessons! However, I felt it was important to teach students beyond the classroom. I also started a school newspaper back then and used to encourage students to take part in competitions like Scrabble. I didn’t just train them, I would go with them and sit with them through the competitions.
“And that is basically what I am doing now … but with the seniors. If you take away this from me, if you expect me to sit at home and do nothing, I think I would die faster. This keeps me going. I need the drive,” she says.
“Even at university – I was from the University of Malaya – I led a protest about police brutality. We came out on the cover of (local publication of the time) Masyarakat!,” she recounts.
Fu has won recognition for her work: Among other things, she was chosen as one of six icons by Universiti Malaya Hospital (PPUM) in conjunction with their celebration of UN International Day of Older Persons 2022. She is also featured in Wiki Impact for her work in advocating for the rights of older persons.
Building her tribe
Despite the new endeavours that she’s constantly undertaking, Fu’s purpose is constant: Advocating for seniors in Malaysia.
“I’m really happy to say that Seniors Aloud has become a community of vibrant seniors. I think it’s really important to be surrounded by people who are vibrant and have a positive mindset. Birds of a feather, you know? If you hang out with people who are always complaining, you will be dragged down too. But with Seniors Aloud, we encourage each other and even those who may be very shy when they first come in, become truly empowered after some time. They become comfortable and confident of their age,” she says.
Growing old alone, she says, is terrible and a community like Seniors Aloud provides seniors with an avenue to make new friends, discover new passions and live life to the fullest.
“Many of us don’t realise that life can get lonely after retirement. The first few years may be liberating but after that, they feel bored. Some of their friends may still be working because not everyone retires at the same time.
“These are things I felt when I retired and I thought that we should do something about it,” she says.
“Now, for the first time, Seniors Aloud has members that span two generations. We have those in their 50s and those who are of my generation. And I think it’s important to have friendships that span different generations,” she says.
Now, with nearly 3,000 members, Fu admits she is struggling to manage the ever-growing membership of Seniors Aloud.
But while the membership is blooming, Fu has a bee in her bonnet that she’s dying to pin down: Getting more senior men to join the community.
“We have men but nowhere near the number of women in our community. And this is a problem. When we talk about the issue of loneliness among seniors, it is overwhelmingly men who face this. I think when it comes to retired men, the ego is a hard thing to get over. Many of them were CEOs and heads of corporations and companies and so, retirement hits them hard. Socialising out of those circles is hard. They still mix with old friends, yes, but they don’t form new friendships or mix in new circles. That is something I want to focus on. How to get these men out,” she says.
She leverages her writing to express her views and advocate for reform. By consistently highlighting the pressing issues seniors face, she hopes to capture the attention of policymakers and decision-makers who can improve the quality of life for seniors.
Her advocacy has earned her a fortnightly column in the national English daily, The Starin which Fu writes about the numerous challenges that senior citizens face in the country: Public spaces that are not designed with older people in mind, the neglect and abandonment of seniors that land them homeless and on the streets; the lack of representation of older adults in the media and much more.
Another agenda on her mind at present is getting the government to table and pass a Bill for Seniors which she says has been on the backburner for too long, despite promises by the present and past governments that it will become a reality soon.
“Seniors don’t have the luxury of time. It’s ironic since we are all retired and have time to kill every day … but the reality is we don’t have many years left to wait for this to come to fruition,” she says.
Where are the seniors?
The lack of representation of seniors in media is another issue that Fu wants to highlight.
“Let’s take the cosmetic industry as an example. Pleaselah use older models in your advertisements when you are marketing products for ageing skin, for example.
“But the advertisements we see everyday feature only young people. Why? It’s not credible. There are so many senior models you can feature in these advertisements. Come on!” she asks, sounding quite fed up.
And don’t get her started on the shortcomings of the fashion industry.
“Fashion doesn’t take into account seniors. Our bodies are different, you know? Clothes in all these stores, Zara or Uniqlo, are not designed for us. The clothes don’t fit us well, so we end up wearing baggy, loose clothing. It’s not because we don’t want to be fashionable … the clothes are not made for our bodies,” she states.
“Please cater to the seniors. These industry people are just not getting it. It’s high time you pitch to us.. after all, we are an ageing population,” she concludes.- Indra Satkunasingam
